Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 2: Overview of improvements to national & local policies in Japan ............................................2
2.1
The history of waste management in Japan (1950s to 2000s) ................................................................................... 2
1) Waste management as a sanitary issue and Japan's high economic growth period ........................... 22) The bubble economy and the waste management crisis (1980s to 1990s) .......................................... 23) Towards the establishment of a sound material-cycle society for social and economic reform (late1990s to early 2000s) ............................................................................................................................................. 34) International cooperation towards promoting 3R policies (late 2000s and onwards) ........................... 4
2.2
The policy framework ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
1) The Basic Environment Law (1993) and Basic Environment Plan (1994, Amendment in 2000, 2006
and 2012) ................................................................................................................................................................. 52) The Basic Act (2000) on and Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society(2003, Amendment in 2008 and 2013) ................................................................................................................ 53) Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and Law for Promotion of Effective Utilization of
Resources ................................................................................................................................................................ 74) Recycling-related laws for sorting, collecting and treating specific types of recyclables ..................... 7
5) Building up a market through the Green Purchasing Law ........................................................................ 7
6) Building up recycling infrastructure through the Eco Town Program ...................................................... 77) Governance for policy implementation ........................................................................................................ 7
2.3
Policies for specific waste streams in Japan .................................................................................................................. 91) Rapid increase of waste along with economic growth and responsibility for waste disposal.............. 92) Stipulating discharger responsibility through legal revisions.................................................................... 9
Chapter 3 Implementation and enforcement of specific policies ............................................................. 11
3.1
Implementation at the national and local levels ........................................................................................................... 111) The Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society............................................ 112) Guidelines for the Basic Master Plan on Waste Disposal ...................................................................... 113) Frameworks to facilitate cooperation between the national and local governments .......................... 114) Approaches to household waste ................................................................................................................ 125) Approaches to waste generated by business operators......................................................................... 15
3.2
Holistic waste management approach for solid waste, liquid waste and gaseous emissions...................... 18
1) Progress in waste disposal management in Japan ................................................................................. 182) Overall waste management methods ........................................................................................................ 18
3) Methods for managing waste according to its characteristics (solid waste) ........................................ 19
4) Methods for managing waste according to its characteristics (liquid waste) ....................................... 195) Methods for managing waste according to its characteristics (gaseous emissions arising throughthe incineration of waste) ..................................................................................................................................... 19
6) Relationship between the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and other recycling laws
197) Waste management methods (measures) adopted by waste disposal facilities ................................ 20
8) Mini-assessment for waste disposal facilities ........................................................................................... 20
9) Examples of waste disposal facilities associated with the Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law and with specific recycling laws ............................................................................................... 20
10) Use of environmental impact assessments in accordance with municipal ordinances ...................... 20
3.3
Packaging waste .................................................................................................................................................................... 22[1] National policy .................................................................................................................................................. 221) Background and objective....................................................................................................................... 222) Roles of the parties concerned .............................................................................................................. 22
3) Characteristics of the recycling system................................................................................................. 224) Performance of the system ..................................................................................................................... 22[2] Example of local implementation: Kawasaki ............................................................................................... 24
1) Waste sorting in Kawasaki ...................................................................................................................... 24
2) Reducing waste through expanding sorted collections ...................................................................... 25
3.4
Food waste .............................................................................................................................................................................. 27[1] National policy .................................................................................................................................................. 27
1) Background ............................................................................................................................................... 27
2) Formulating a new basic policy for the Food Recycling Law ............................................................. 27

3) Food reuse targets for food-related business operators .................................................................... 27
4) Performance of the system ..................................................................................................................... 27[2] Example of local implementation: Kawasaki ............................................................................................... 28
1) Guidance to business operators discharging large quantities of business-related general waste
282) Providing information on the Food Recycling Law and implementing model projects................... 28
3) Food Waste Recycling Plan.................................................................................................................... 28
4) Food waste reduction by the city government and residents ............................................................ 28
3.5
E-waste ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 30[1] National policy .................................................................................................................................................. 30
1) Background ............................................................................................................................................... 30
2) Objective .................................................................................................................................................... 30
3) Roles of the parties concerned .............................................................................................................. 30
4) Characteristics of the recycling system................................................................................................. 30
5) Performance of the system ..................................................................................................................... 31[2] Example of local implementation: Kawasaki ............................................................................................... 31
1) Unique collection system through the Home Appliance Recycling Council .................................... 31
2) New approaches to recycling small electrical and electronic equipment ......................................... 31
3) Box collection ............................................................................................................................................ 32
4) Collection through events ....................................................................................................................... 32
5) Pick-up collection ..................................................................................................................................... 32
3.6
Construction and demolition waste ................................................................................................................................. 34[1] National policy .................................................................................................................................................. 34
1) Background ............................................................................................................................................... 342) Objective .................................................................................................................................................... 34
3) Roles of the parties concerned .............................................................................................................. 34
4) Characteristics of the recycling system................................................................................................. 34
5) Performance of the system ..................................................................................................................... 35[2] Example of local implementation: Kawasaki ............................................................................................... 35
1) Applications for permits under the Construction Material Recycling Law ........................................ 35
2) Inspections ................................................................................................................................................ 36
3) Recycling ................................................................................................................................................... 36
3.7
End-of-life vehicles ................................................................................................................................................................ 38[1] National policy .................................................................................................................................................. 38
1) Background ............................................................................................................................................... 38
2) Policy objective and an evaluation of the system after its entry into force ...................................... 38
3) Performance of the system ..................................................................................................................... 38
4) Registration and licensing of business operators under the End-of-life Vehicle Recycling Law .. 39[2] Example of local implementation: Kawasaki ............................................................................................... 40
1) Screening and standards for registration and licensing ..................................................................... 40
2) On-site inspections and reporting .......................................................................................................... 40
3) Administrative disposition ....................................................................................................................... 40
4) Occurrences of, and responses to, reports of delays when reporting on movement of end-of-life
vehicles ............................................................................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 4 Lessons learned ........................................................................................................................... 42

Acknowledgements
Authors
Mushtaq Ahmed Memon (International Environmental Technology Centre, United Nations Environment
Programme)
Yoshihiko Hotta, Shiko Hayashi, Atsushi Santo, Chika Aok (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies)
Takeshi Koritani, Osamu Suga (Waste Reduction Promotion Section, Public Waste Management Department,
Environmental Protection Bureau, City of Kawasaki)
Ikumi Shimada (Waste Collection Planning Section, Public Waste Management Department, Environmental
Protection Bureau, City of Kawasaki)
Takashi Yanagisawa, Yasutaka Tokioka, Satoshi Ogishima (Waste Management Supervision Section, Public
Waste Management Department, Environmental Protection Bureau, City of Kawasaki)
Yoshinari Kinoshita, Daisuke Nakamura (Waste Management Policy Division, Environmental Protection
Bureau, City of Kawasaki)
Hitoshi Takahashi (Technology Superintendence Section, General Administration Department, Construction
and Greenery Development Bureau, City of Kawasaki)
Yuichi Kitamura, Shiho Kasamatsu (Kawasaki Environment Research Institute, Environmental Protection
Bureau, City of Kawasaki)

Contributors and reviewers
Surendra Shrestha (International Environmental Technology Centre, United Nations Environment Programme)
Shunichi Honda (International Environmental Technology Centre, United Nations Environment Programme)
Yoshinori Suga, Takahiro Suzuki (Office of Sound Material-cycle Society, Policy Planning Division, Waste
Management and Recycling Department, Ministry of the Environment of Japan)
Hiroaki Kitano (Kawasaki Environment Research Institute, Environmental Protection Bureau, City of Kawasaki)

Supervision
Satoru Yokota (Kawasaki Environment Research Institute, Environmental Protection Bureau, City of Kawasaki)Chapter 1: Introduction
Rapid increases in waste generation, coupled witha greater complexity in the composition of waste
including hazardous waste, pose major threats toboth human health and the environment. Moreover,increasing amounts of waste also mean greater
amounts of resources being wasted, while the rapid
increase in waste generation and the complex
composition of waste including hazardous waste
result in greater pressure on local and national
governments to allocate more funds to waste
management.

and economic losses. The experience ofdeveloped countries clearly shows that the notionsof cleaner production and sustainable consumption
and production are key for achieving a sustainable
development agenda. These notions can berealized within a shorter time span through theeffective transfer of knowledge in the North-Southand South-South cooperation contexts.
This brief report has been prepared by the
Kawasaki City Government in close cooperation
with the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, theInternational Environmental Technology Centre(IETC) of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UN Environment) and the Institute for
Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). It aims toassist developing countries in learning from theexperiences of national and local governments inJapan regarding waste management.

While this is a difficult area for all countries toaddress, most local and national governments indeveloping countries have limited resources andare faced with numerous competing needs,
including in the areas of health, water, education,transportation, housing and food.
Many developed countries including Japan faced asimilar challenge during the 1950s and 1960s,
when they experienced rapid industrialization,
especially in heavy industry, while undergoing
economic recovery after World War II. These
countries spent many years improving their waste
management through legislative frameworks,
techniques and technologies, voluntary measures,awareness and stakeholder participation. Lessons
from their experiences can assist developing
countries in shifting their learning curve for
improving waste management. The inverted U ofan “environmental Kuznets curve” that relates
environmental protection with income per capita
can be pushed down to achieve environmental
protection at less income per capita by learning andemployingpractices―both
policiesandtechniques―from other countries. The notion of“develop first and clean up later” has proven to beunsound as human health was affected and many
natural resources were damaged beyond quick
repair, resulting in major personal, environmental

The report is structured into four chapters. Chapter
2 provides the background of Japan during the1950s, highlighting similarities to many developing
countries’ current situation. Chapter 2 also
overviews improvements in national and local
policies to tackle the enormous challenge of waste
at that time, including hazardous waste. Chapter 3
looks at the implementation and enforcement ofspecific policies, as many developing countries,
even those with good legislative frameworks, still
face the challenge of effectively implementing andenforcing policies. This chapter covers important
areas of waste management, including wastewater,
gaseous emissions, containers and packaging
waste, waste plastics, food waste, e-waste,
construction waste, and end-of-life vehicles.
Chapter 4 summarizes the lessons learned in thecontext of knowledge transfer opportunities fordeveloping countries as they address the growing
challenge of waste management.

1Chapter 2: Overview of
improvements to national & local
policies in Japan
2.1 The history of waste management in Japan (1950s to
2000s)
waste) and industrial waste and clearly assigned tobusinesses the responsibility of managing andtreating industrial waste. It should be noted thateven though the Environment Agency came into
being in 1971, waste management at the time was
the responsibility of the Ministry of Health andWelfare. Alongside these legal developments, theJapanese national government provided support
for setting up treatment facilities. For municipal
waste, the national government provided subsidies
to establish treatment facilities. For industrial waste,
low-interest financing and special tax measures
were provided to industrial sectors for establishingtreatment facilities.

1) Waste management as a sanitaryissue and Japan's high economic
growth period
From the mid-1950s through the 1970s, Japan
experienced rapid economic growth andurbanization, resulting in a tremendous andongoing increase in household waste generation,with the exception of the 1973 “oil shock” period.
This was because higher household incomes,
coupled with the era of television, stimulated
consumption in households aiming for a more
urban lifestyle. In the 1960s, 40% of municipal
waste was disposed of in unlined landfills or
dumped in mountainous areas (Ministry of theEnvironment of Japan, 2006). The burying ofuntreated waste in Japan, with its hightemperature, high-humidity climate, led to greater
amounts of flies and mosquitoes, giving rise to asanitary issue. Meanwhile, ensuring adequate
landfill capacity became a critical issue, as Japan’sland space is limited. According to the Ministry of
the Environment of Japan (2006), the amount ofmunicipal waste generated per person per day
increased roughly 6% per year during the 1960s.
Lifestyle changes during that period brought
dramatic increases in the amount of difficult- totreat waste such as end-of-life household
appliances and plastics. To respond to thesechallenges of increasing waste volumes andassociated sanitary problems, Japan beganpromoting incineration as a primary waste
treatment technology in a highly systematic andcomprehensive manner.

Also, some municipalities started to promote
recycling, especially of packaging and containers,
to reduce the amount of waste being landfilled.

2) The bubble economy and the waste
management crisis (1980s to 1990s)
In the 1980s, Japan experienced what has often
been called a “bubble economy,” characterized byintensified consumption, greater amounts of throwaway products due to changes in lifestyle and rapid
urbanization. This resulted in a further increase inwaste generation volumes and varieties, aninsufficient number of waste disposal facilities andsites, worsening air and water quality andincreasing numbers and amounts of chemicalcomponents in products. Especially, in the 1980s,
the use of plastic packaging expanded, intensifying
municipalities’ concerns over waste management
and recycling.

At the same time, waste from industrial sources
and associated pollution became matters of major
public concern during this period. The year 1970
was an epoch-making year for Japaneseenvironmental policy. That year, the National Diet,
popularly referred to as the “Pollution Diet,” passed
14 laws promoting environmental protection. Oneof these was the Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law, which entered into force in 1971,
replacing the Public Cleansing Act of 1954. The
newly introduced Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law clearly stated that one of theobjectives of waste management is environmental
protection. It defined general waste (municipal solid

In the early 1990s, Japan’s waste treatment wasdependent
largely uponincineration.
Itsincineration rate was 74%, a level much higher
than that of other OECD countries, such as 55% for
Sweden in 1991, 25% for Germany in 1993, 23%
for the Netherlands in 1993, 16% for the US in 1993
and 5% for Canada in 1992. Another characteristicof Japan’s waste treatment system at the time was
the large number of small-scale incineration
facilities. Japan had 1,854 incineration facilities in
1993. This was about 10 to 100 times as many asother OECD countries. The US had 148 such2

facilities; Germany, 54; Sweden, 21; Canada, 17;
and the Netherlands, 11.

Second, interest in global environmental problems
and waste issues rose in the 1990s after the Rio
Summit in 1992 and especially at the time of COP3,
held in Kyoto in 1997. There was a growing andcommon understanding of the need to establish asociety that had sound material cycles. Third, theend of the Cold War and the information technology(IT) revolution sped up economic globalization. It
was argued that Japan’s social and economic
structures should shift from concentrating on thenational economy to the globalized economy.

However, increasing waste volume and changing
types of wastes posed challenges for waste
management depending on both incineration andrecycling activities. Firstly, the increase in plastic
waste made it difficult to separate various types ofplastics from other household wastes. Since
incineration has been the major treatment methodof household waste in Japan, Japan’s small- scale
incineration plants became sources of concern forpollution by dioxins. Citizens’ concerns over dioxin
pollution became social concerns over incineratorsin the early 1990s. The 1998 White Paper ofJapan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that80-90% of dioxin generated in Japan resulted fromincineration. Not all plastics that are burnable aresuitable for incineration. Secondly, the growing
number of local governments engaged in recycling
resulted in an over- supply of recyclables to themarket and a slump in the price of recyclables. This
made the recycling market for used packaging andcontainers often dysfunctional, as recyclables oftencommanded negative prices (meaning thatrecyclables shifted from being valuables to a kindof social cost). This resulted in the recycling effortsof municipalities often facing difficulties when
accepting recycling industries for collected
recyclables.

In 2000 six legislative instruments related torecycling were passed by the Diet: (1) the Basic Act
on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society, alaw indicating the concept and basic framework ofa society with sound material cycles; (2) therevision of the Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law; (3) the revision of the Law for the
Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources,
through which the principles of “reduce,” “reuse”
and “recycle” became the ideals within waste
policy; (4) the Construction Material Recycling Law;
(5) the Food Recycling Law and (6) the Green
Purchasing Law, which promotes the purchase ofrecycled and environmentally friendly goods by thegovernment and public organizations to promote a
shift in demand for such goods. Another importantlegislative action in 2000 was the reform of thenational government that took effect in 2001, which
reorganized the Environment Agency as the
Ministry of the Environment and transferred the
responsibilities for waste management from the
Ministry of Health and Welfare to the Environment
Ministry.

Japan introduced two measures to respond tothese challenges. Firstly, Japanese local
governments decided to shut down small- scale
incineration facilities and upgrade to large-scale
facilities for mass incineration. To operate theselarge-scale incinerators, Japanese municipalities
had to collect waste continually at a mass scale. At
the same time, the rebuilding of old facilities into
new and larger facilities, along with theirrunning/operating costs, became very expensive.
Secondly, the national government decided to
introduce a series of product- specific recycling
laws based on the concept of Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR).

The aim of these six laws, together with theContainers and Packaging Recycling Law and theHome Appliance Recycling Law enacted later, is to
go beyond improved waste processing to theformation of a sustainable “sound material-cycle
society.”
The structural recession of the 1990s provided asymbolic depiction of the limits of the “developing”
type of regime that had successfully led Japanese
economic development throughout the post-world
war era. In this context, the environment became
one of the key criteria for restructuring, especiallyamong businesses. Therefore, this legislation canbe considered a part of the wholesale restructuringof the Japanese economic and social system froma “developing” one into a “mature” one by taking
the examples of Western and Northern European
countries such as the Netherlands, Germany,
Sweden, and Norway.

3) Towards the establishment of asound material-cycle society forsocial and economic reform (late1990s to early 2000s)
In the 1990s Japanese society faced fundamental
changes. First, during the long structural recessionof the 1990s, there arose the realization of the needto restructure Japanese society. With the end of theCold War and a deceleration of the economy, anatmosphere arose from the 1990s that Japan’s
political, economic and social structures needed tobe restructured through structural reform. For
example, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (inoffice from 2001 to 2006) maintained his popularity
by advocating the need for structural reform.

The policy direction of Japan towards a soundmaterial-cycle society took on relatively more
concrete visions in such areas as the role ofstakeholders, the interaction of legislation andstrategies, concrete quantitative targets to beachieved and a constant follow-up process under3

the Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound
Material-Cycle Society, initially released in 2003
and revised in 2008 and 2013.

on the 3Rs and waste management by supporting
national
strategydevelopment
andcitydevelopment.
Then, in 2009, in collaboration with several
international organizations and research institutes,
the Japanese government proposed the launch of
the Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific, aninter- governmental forum to facilitate 3R policy
implementation in Asia and the Pacific region withthe participation of ministers, vice-ministers, andother ministerial-level participants from more than
30 countries as well as international organizations,research institutes, aid agencies, private entities,
NGOs and experts.

4) International cooperation towards
promoting 3R policies (late 2000s
and onwards)
In the late 2000s, Japan pushed this strategy
forward as an international initiative under the 3R
Initiative. The 3R Initiative is Japan’s initiative
under the G8 process (the Group of Eight
industrialized countries) to promote the "3Rs"(reduce, reuse and recycle) globally so as to build
a sound material-cycle society through the effective
use of resources and materials. It was agreed uponat the G8 Sea Island Summit in June 2004 as a new
G8 initiative, and an action plan to promote the 3R
policy, the Kobe 3R Action Plan, was agreed at theG8 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in May 2008 in
Kobe, Japan. Japan has successfully become asound material-cycle society and is a leader
promoting the 3Rs in Asia.

After several high-level policy dialogues on issues,challenges and opportunities for 3R policy
implementation in the region, the Fourth Meeting of
the Regional 3R Forum, held in March 2013 inHanoi, Viet Nam, released the Hanoi 3R
Declaration, which came up with 33 goals relevant
to 3R promotion in participating countries, covering
issues in municipal solid waste, industrial waste,goals in rural areas, goals for new and emerging
wastes and goals for cross-cutting issues. It also
proposed associated sample indicators to monitor
the progress of implementation of those goals.
Japan has been promoting international
cooperation for 3R policy implementation since themid-2000s.

The Strategy for an Environmental Nation in the
21st Century, released in 2007, declared thatJapan will promote the vision of a sound materialcycle society in accordance with different
challenges faced by Asian countries by transferring
institutional mechanisms, technological systems
and experience in multi-stakeholder collaboration

References
� Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ). (2006). Sweeping Policy Reform Towards a “Sound
Material Cycle Society” Starting from Japan and Spreading over the Entire Globe: The “3R” Loop
Connecting Japan with Other Countries. Tokyo: MOEJ.
� MOEJ. (2007). Technologies to Support a Sound Material-Cycle Society: Development of 3R and
Waste Management Technologies. Tokyo: MOEJ.
� MOEJ. (2007). Becoming a Leading Environmental Nation in the 21st Century: Japan's Strategy for a
Sustainable Society. Tokyo: MOEJ.
� MOEJ. (2008). The World in Transition, and Japan’s Efforts to Establish a Sound Material-Cycle
Society. Tokyo: MOEJ.
� UNCRD. (n.d.). Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific.
http://www.uncrd.or.jp/index.php?menu=389

4

2.2 The policy framework
The policy framework for Japan’s waste management and recycling is overviewed in the figure below.

Policy Framework for the 3Rs in Japan
Source: Revised from Y. Moriguchi (2006), “Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society in Asia,” presented
at the Asia 3R Conference, October 30-November 1, 2006, Tokyo, Japan.

1) The Basic Environment Law (1993)
and Basic Environment Plan (1994,
Amendment in 2000, 2006 and 2012)

2) The Basic Act (2000) on andFundamental Plan for Establishing aSound Material-Cycle Society (2003,
Amendment in 2008 and 2013)

The Basic Environment Law of 1993 established theoverall framework for Japan’s environmental policy,
including waste management and recycling. With
the enactment of this law, the emphasis of Japan’senvironmental policy shifted from preventing
environmental pollution to addressing global
environmental issues and sustainability issues.
Some of the key principles of waste management
such as Extended Producer Responsibility and the
Polluter Pays Principle are mentioned in the Basic
Law as responsibilities of producers and businesses.
The Basic Environment Plan sets out the basic
direction of environmental policy and is revised
every six years. The current plan, developed in 2012,is the fourth such plan.
It emphasizes integrated efforts among goals
related to a low carbon society (climate issues), a
sound material-cycle society (waste management
and recycling), and a society in harmony with nature(biodiversity).

The Basic Act on Establishing a Sound MaterialCycle Society is designed to facilitate the realizationof the ideas expressed in the Basic Environment
Law in the areas of waste management andrecycling and a resource-efficient society. When the
responsibilities for waste management weretransferred to the Environment Ministry in 2001, thefocus of Japan’s waste management and recycling
policy shifted from sanitation and disposal toresource utilization.
A variety of existing and new measures were placed
within the framework of the “Basic Act on
Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society”(2000). Also, the Fundamental Plan for Establishinga Sound Material-Cycle Society (2003) establishes
numerical targets based on material flow accounting(MFA)-based indicators, designates particular roles
for stakeholders and sets out an overall direction sothat individual efforts will be consistent with thenational goal of establishing a sound material-cycle
society. Three major indicators and targets set
5

under the Fundamental Plan are resource
productivity (GDP/resource input), cyclical use rate
[cyclical use amount/ (cyclical use amount + natural
resource input)] and amount of final disposal. The
following figure shows the progress of these
indicators and targets set under the Third
Fundamental Plan in 2013.

Cycle Society as “a society in which theconsumption of natural resources is minimized, andthe environmental load is reduced as much as
possible by preventing products, etc. frombecoming wastes, etc., promoting appropriate
recycling of products, etc., when they have become
recyclable resources, and securing appropriate
disposal (as wastes) of the recyclable resources notrecycled.”

A “sound material-cycle society” is defined within
the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-

Progress of MFA-based indicators and numerical targets set in Third Fundamental Plan
Source: Government of Japan (2013), Third Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society

6rooted in society. Thus, the green purchasing law
was originally developed to build up a market forgreen products to close the loop. The law requires
the national government, local governments,
national institutes and agencies to promote theprocurement of recycled products.

3) Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law and Law for
Promotion of Effective Utilization of
Resources
The Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law,
enacted in 1971 to replace the earlier Public
Cleansing Act, is at the core of Japan’s waste
management policy and regulations. The law
regulates the proper treatment of two basic
categories of wastes in Japan: municipal solid
waste and industrial waste. In both waste categories,
it sets forth the basic regulations for the following
issues and aspects of waste management: 1)
establishing the reduction of waste generation as aprinciple, 2) promoting proper treatment of waste(including recycling), 3) clarifying who holds
responsibility for waste management (municipalities
for municipal waste and industry for industrial
waste), 4) regulating the establishment of waste
treatment facilities, 5) regulating waste treatment
operators, and 6) establishing waste treatment
standards.

6) Building up recycling infrastructure
through the Eco Town Program
The Eco Town Program, established in 1997, takes
as its goal the promotion of building advanced
communities that are in harmony with theenvironment. It positions the concept of “zeroemissions” (that is, the idea of aiming at eliminating
waste by newly making use of all wastes generated
by certain industries as raw materials in otherindustrial fields) as a basic concept for creating
within a local community an economic and social
system that is in harmony with the environment. It
also promotes zero emissions as a basis fordeveloping the local area.
When plans drafted by prefectures or by major(government-designated) cities in accordance withthe characteristics of their own local areas received
joint approval from the Ministry of the Environment
and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
local public authorities and civil society groups
received integrated and multifaceted support fromeither of the two ministries for projects undertaken
based on these plans. One part of that support until
fiscal 2007 was assistance for plants, facilities andequipment. When these plans were drafted bysmaller cities, towns and villages (including partial
affairs associations), the plans had to be formulated
jointly with the prefecture or another similar entity.
After the Program was launched, a total of 26 local
areas were approved as eco towns, including thecities of Kawasaki and Kitakyushu.

On the other hand, the Law for the Promotion of
Effective Utilization of Resources promotes
recycling as well as the other two Rs of “reduce” and“reuse.” It stipulates the actual implementation of
the 3Rs in specific industrial sectors as well as for
specific products and recyclables. It requires thepromotion of the 3Rs in ten industrial sectors (suchas in the pulp and paper industry, chemical industry,
steel industry, non-ferrous metal industry and forautomobile manufacturers) and 69 items (such as
personal computers and small secondary batteries).

4) Recycling-related laws for sorting,collecting and treating specific typesof recyclables
To realize the idea of a sound material-cycle society
and minimize waste generation, Japan introduced aseries of recycling laws targeting specific productcategories. These include the Containers andPackaging Recycling Law of 1995, the Home
Appliance Recycling Law of 1998, the Food
Recycling Law of 2000, the Construction Material
Recycling Law of 2000, the End-of-life Vehicle
Recycling Law of 2002, and the Small Home
Appliance Recycling Law of 2012. For specificfeatures of each law, see Chapter 3.2 through 3.7.

7) Governance for policy
implementation
The Basic Environment Plan, the Fundamental Planfor Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society andall product-specific recycling laws are reviewed
periodically (every five years, except every six years
in the case of the Basic Environment Plan).
Therefore, every five to six years, various
stakeholders can convey their opinions andmessages to the national government on policies. It
is important for the national government to reflect
these views when revising recycling laws.

5) Building up a market through theGreen Purchasing Law
The original purpose of the Green Purchasing Law
of 2000 is to generate demand for products that use
recyclables. Through specific recycling-related laws,
Japan has worked to establish collection andtreatment systems for specific recyclables. However,this alone will not make material circulation firmly

7References
From the Ministry of Environment Japan webpage (https://www.env.go.jp/en/index.html) or the e-Gov websiteof the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (http://www.e-gov.go.jp/en/index.html, http://law.egov.go.jp/cgi-bin/idxsearch.cgi)
� Environment White Paper of Japan http://www.env.go.jp/en/wpaper/� The Basic Environment Law of Japan http://www.env.go.jp/en/laws/policy/basic/
� The Fourth Basic Environment Plan of Japan� English brochure, part 1: http://www.env.go.jp/policy/kihon_keikaku/plan/plan_4/attach/pamph_en1.pdf English brochure, part 2:
http://www.env.go.jp/policy/kihon_keikaku/plan/plan_4/attach/pamph_en-2.pdf
� The Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society
https://www.env.go.jp/en/laws/recycle/12.pdf
� The Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society
http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/circul/keikaku.html (available in Japanese)� Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law https://www.env.go.jp/en/laws/recycle/01.pdf
� Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/main/english/law/promotion.html
� Green Purchasing Law http://www.env.go.jp/en/laws/policy/green/� Information on the Central Environment Council http://www.env.go.jp/council/index.html (available inJapanese)82.3 Policies for specific waste streams in Japan
1) Rapid increase of waste along witheconomic growth and responsibility
for waste disposal

2) Stipulating discharger responsibility
through legal revisions

Along with economic recovery and growth afterWorld War II, Japans population began shifting
towards the cities. Accompanying this shift in
population was an increase in the amount of waste
being handled by municipalities.

Despite such regulations, these measures proved to
be insufficient because of the priority being placedat the time on economic growth. This resulted inmeasures that addressed superficial waste issues
only while failing to address the establishment of abasic waste disposal system.

In 1963, the national plan established in responseto the Act on Emergency Measures Concerning the
Improvement and Construction of Industrial Waste
Disposal Facilities included a policy of incinerating
municipal waste and burying the residue. This
prompted the construction of incineration facilities inindividual municipalities throughout Japan.

This led to serious environmental issues such as theillegal industrial waste disposal seen on TeshimaIsland in Kagawa Prefecture.

The Teshima Island issue

The case of Teshima Island raised the publicsawareness about the problem of industrial waste.

There were, however, some municipalities in which
the construction of such facilities met with strong
opposition from local residents. With regard to theconstruction of final waste disposal plants inparticular, conflict arose between municipalities thatwere generating waste and those that were
processing it, a development that became known as
the garbage war.

An industrial waste disposal company illegally
disposed of massive amounts of industrial waste
and conducted open burning of waste between
1983 and 1990 on Teshima Island in Kagawa
Prefecture. The amount of industrial waste andcontaminated soil totalled 560,000 m3 and it isestimated that the ultimate cost of proper disposal
will reach 45 billion yen. After a long-running court
case, Kagawa Prefecture took responsibility fordisposal, because it had approved the operator.
The prefecture started the cleanup work in 2000
and aims to complete it by 2017.

Increased industrial activity and growth in theJapanese economy overall were accompanied bygreater amounts of waste, leading to an increase inillegal disposal and environmental pollution.
In 1970, the national government took on thegrowing problem of environmental pollution byrevising the Public Cleansing Act to create theWaste Management and Public Cleansing Law.
This new law differentiated between industrial waste
and municipal solid waste, stipulated who held
responsibility for disposal and established penalties
for illegal dumping. One of the important concepts
in this law was the placing of responsibility for theproper disposal of all waste generated by throughbusiness activities, whether industrial or municipal
solid wastes waste, on the businesses thatgenerated sit. Since industrial waste may cause
environmental pollution, the law was based on the
Polluter Pays Principle (PPP).

Inappropriate disposal of industrial waste not only
affects the environment but also requires extended
periods of time and great expense to returncontaminated areas to their original state.
Faced with these major issues, the Japanese
government sought to establish a system stipulating
the responsibility of dischargers.
This system included waste disposal planning, thevisualization of waste disposal processes based ona manifesto management system, and stricter
requirements for approving operators in accordancewith the concept of discharger responsibility toensure the appropriate handling of waste disposal.
In order to clearly stipulate such responsibility, theJapanese government repeatedly revised laws
concerning waste disposal.

The law also stipulated that businesses takeresponsibility for facilitating ease of disposal not
only in the manufacture of products, but also in the
manufacture of containers as well as the processing
and sale of products.
The Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law,
the foundation for the development of Japanscurrent waste disposal system, came into force thefollowing year, in 1971.

9References
� Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ). (2005). Approaches to waste management andrecycling in Japan. (available in Japanese)� MOEJ. (2011). FY 2001 Annual Report on the Sound Material-Cycle Society in Japan.
� Kagawa Prefecture Teshima Waste Treatment Project,
http://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/haitai/teshima/index.htm (available in Japanese)� MOEJ (2014) The history of Japans waste treatment and current status.
https://www.env.go.jp/recycle/circul/venous_industry/ja/history.pdf (available in Japanese)

10Chapter 3 Implementation andenforcement of specific policies
3.1 Implementation at the national and local levels
these. This master plan is reviewed and revisedroughly every five years.
� Local governments are to create a Waste
Disposal Implementation Plan each year todemonstrate how the measures developed in theplan will be carried out in actual waste disposal
administration. The collection, transport,intermediate processing and final disposal ofwaste are implemented based on this plan.

1) The Fundamental Plan for
Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle
Society
The Third Fundamental Plan for Establishing aSound Material-Cycle Society states that thenational and local governments must cooperate
when solving problems.
In regard to the responsibilities of theseadministrative bodies, the national government is
expected to make comprehensive efforts forestablishing a sound material-cycle society by
developing partnerships with relevant actors andcarrying out necessary measures adequately. On
the other hand, local governments are expected tobe responsible for establishing a sound materialcycle society in their local communities while also
playing a coordinating role for relevant actors
regarding the implementation of the appropriate
cyclic use and disposal of waste.

Cooperation
for
waste
disposaldatamanagement
� The Ministry of the Environment carries out anannual Survey on Municipal Waste Disposal
among municipalities across Japan for the
purpose of obtaining basic information onmunicipal waste disposal administration. In their
responses, local governments provide theministry with detailed data regarding suchmatters as the state of waste generation anddisposal, refuse incineration facilities, final
disposal sites, waste management expenses
and 3R efforts.

2) Guidelines for the Basic Master Plan
on Waste Disposal

3) Frameworks to facilitate cooperation
between the national and local
governments

Guidelines exist for drawing up master plans that lay
out measures for waste reduction through soundwaste management and the promotion of the 3Rs at
the level of the local authorities. These are theGuidelines for the Basic Master Plan on Waste
Disposal, first developed in 1993 and then revisedin 2008 and 2013. The following provides an
overview of these guidelines.

The following is the major framework for facilitating
cooperation between the national and local
governments.
1: Promote the 3R policies of local governments
through information on the policies provided by thenational government;
2: Support the development of recycling
infrastructure through grants/subsidies from thenational government;
3: Have exchanges of views between the national
and local governments and focus on issues.

Development of a master planby local governments
� Under article 6, section 1 of the Waste
Management and Public Cleansing Law, local
governments are required to establish a plan forthe disposal of municipal waste generated within
their jurisdiction.
� In accordance with the items stipulated in the
Guidelines for the Basic Master Plan on Waste
Disposal, local governments are to create a
MasterPlan
for
Municipal
Waste
Disposal/Fundamental Plan for Establishing aSound Material-Cycle Society.
� From a long-term perspective of 10 to 15 years,
the Master Plan for Municipal Waste Disposal
clarifies the modalities of collection, transport,intermediate processing and final disposal ofmunicipal waste and the measures necessary for

1: Promote the 3R policies of local governments
through information on the policies provided by
the national government
The national government assists local governments,
facilitating their efforts through developing various
new 3R concepts, preparing guidelines, andproviding information on 3R policies, including
introducing previous cases.
2: Support the development of recycling
infrastructure through grants/subsidies fromthe national government
11

Grants for a Sound Material-Cycle Society
This is a program in which local governments(municipalities) develop a plan for waste
management and recycling facilities in an extensive
and comprehensive manner (a Regional Plan for
the Formation and Promotion of a Sound MaterialCycle Society), and the national government
provides grants for the development of facilities
appearing within the plan 1 . This program aims toestablish relevant facilities, including facilities forpromoting the material cycle, facilities for promoting
energy recovery, facilities for promoting organic
waste recycling and final disposal sites, while also
aiming to renovate and extend the lives of thesefacilities.

shared through daily communication andmanagerial meetings. Regional offices also
support policy implementation through joint onsite inspections with prefectures, collection ofvarious views at block meetings and assistancefor business operators.

The Eco Town Project
The Eco Town Project, implemented from 1997 to
2007, aimed to promote environmental industries
and facilitate a sound material-cycle society. (Seechapter 2.2.2.) Under this project, local
governments were responsible for submitting an
eco-town plan prepared in cooperation with privatecompanies.

Cooperation between the national and localt� Japan Waste Management Association: This isan organization of the officials in charge of waste
disposal within local governments. Requests
from each region are reported to the national
government at an annual meeting (or meetings,
as requested).
� Personnel exchange opportunities between thenational and local governments: The actual
conditions of the local areas come to be reflectedin national policies through daily exchanges ofviews between local government personnel
seconded to positions in the national
government and national government officials.
� Invitation of the representatives of the
Association of Prefectural Governors and the
National Association of Towns and Villages tomeetings for feedback and review hosted by thenational government

The cities of Kawasaki and Kitakyushu faceddifficulties securing sites for waste disposal andwaste processing and recycling facilities andencountered an economic downturn as a result of
the industrial hollowing out of the 1990s.
Consequently, these cities needed to provide aboost for their industries. In this way, the Eco Town
Project coincided with the interests of these local
governments.
As various types of recycling laws were established,
the Eco Town Project began to take on
characteristics
ofdeveloping
industrial
infrastructure. As a result, the project shifted tobeing a development project for sound materialcycle industries.
3: Have exchanges of views between thenational and local governments and focus on
issuesWhen the national government carries out policies,
it first provides explanations to prefectures anddesignated cities. Subsequent to that, prefectures
conduct regional coordination and also provide
explanations to their municipalities.

4) Approaches to household waste
As noted earlier, municipalities are responsible forthe handling of household waste.
Japans limited landmass, however, means that thevast majority of municipalities face problems insecuring adequate final disposal sites. The rapid
urbanization of the city of Kawasaki following WorldWar II resulted in a high rate of land use, and thisprevented the building of large-scale final disposal
facilities in inland areas. To address this, the city
opened landfills in 1978 after exploring safe ways totreat incineration ash, including through the
improvement of revetments.

Furthermore, the following system enables thenational government to regularly obtain feedback
from local governments.
� Regional Offices of the Ministry of theEnvironment: These offices have a direct
relationship with municipalities, and views ineach region collected by the regional offices are
1 Ministry of the Environment of Japan.

http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/waste/3r_network/index.html(available in Japanese)

12The current landfill site from the second phase,
however, is the citys last available landfill site, andthe number of years remaining until the site reaches
capacity was estimated at 23 as of 2004. Thissituation highlighted the need to reduce waste toprolong the viability of the site. In addition,
incineration facilities have deteriorated, raisingconcern about the stability of processing.

Overview of the Kawasaki City General
Waste Processing Plan
Period: FY 2016 - FY 2025
Basic principle: Working to achieve asustainable, environmentally-friendly
community
Basic policy
� Respond effectively to social changes andstrive for a society that generates as little
waste as possible
� Implement Eco-gurashi throughcollaboration between residents,
businesses, and municipal governments,and further implement the 3Rs
� Ensure a comfortable living environment
where people can live healthy lives withpeace of mind
Objectives (Base year: fiscal 2015)
� Reduce waste volumes by 10% per person(998g → 898g)
� Reduce incinerated waste volumes by
40,000 tons (370,000 tons → 330,000
tons) (Reduce household waste by 20,000
tons & business-generated waste by
20,000 tons)

Landfill site in Kawasaki
In response, Kawasaki City established its Waste
Management Basic Plan (The Kawasaki Challenge
for 3Rs) to carry out its waste management
responsibilities.
This plan aims to prolong the availability of landfill
sites and replace waste processing centres in aplanned manner through the reduction andrecycling of waste.
Measures taken based on this plan have succeededin extending the remaining number of years forutilizing the Kawasakis landfill site roughly 40 years,
until fiscal 2056. In addition, the 500,000 tons ofincinerated waste in fiscal 2003 was expected todecrease to 370,000 tons in fiscal 2015. As a result,in April 2015, the citys four incineration facilities that
had been in operation until then were able totransition to a system in which only threeincineration facilities were operating while the fourth
underwent replacement.
In the years to come, based on the Kawasaki City
General Waste Processing Plan: Cutting down on
waste: an Eco-gurashi plan for the future launchedin fiscal 2016, the city will go beyond its efforts thus
far to not only increase awareness about recycling
but also promote the two Rs (reduce, reuse) whichhave even less environmental impact than recycling.
As part of this plan, it will also promote integrated
measures toward resource recycling, lowcarbonization, and environmental coexistence.

Replacement of incineration facilities

13

14

peace of mind and pays attention to quality. Fourareas are set forth as the main pillars for promoting
the plan, namely actively supporting measurestaken by business operators involved in promoting
the 3Rs in a manner that prioritizes the 2Rs of
reduce and reuse; promoting even further theproper processing and disposal of industrial waste;
promoting means for processing and disposing ofindustrial waste that are desirable from theperspective of climate change countermeasures inbroad terms, aiming at the creation of a soundmaterial-cycle society and the realization of a lowcarbon society; and advancing consideration ofcooperation and coordination with industrial waste
disposal operators, industrial waste councils, andothers regarding the processing and disposal ofindustrial waste and disaster waste, should adisaster strike. Indicating these main pillars to the
public encourages voluntary measures by business
operators and provides for fair and equitableguidance on the part of the city.

5) Approaches to waste generated bybusiness operators
Waste discharged by business operators isclassified into industrial waste specified by law andother business-related waste.
As noted earlier, business operators are
responsible for handling waste generated throughtheir business activities and for using an appropriate
system for waste management. In addition to
supporting appropriate management by accepting
non-industrial waste generated by business
operators, municipalities also help business
operators reduce industrial waste and promote
recycling within the operators responsibility for
waste management. Municipalities supervise andprovide instruction regarding consignment toqualified waste disposal operators capable ofhandling industrial waste, including waste
containing hazardous substances such as asbestos,
PCBs and infectious wastes.

This plan is reviewed every five years to stay current
with changes in the social and economic situation
as well as the state of industrial waste. Kawasaki iscurrently implementing measures based on its Sixth
Industrial Waste Management Guidance Plan
(2016-2020).

Furthermore, municipalities certify industrial waste
disposal operators and waste disposal facility
owners after confirming that they meet therequirements for approval stipulated by law.
Municipalities also conduct periodic on-site
inspections of business operators and industrial
waste disposal operators to confirm theircompliance with laws, provide administrative
guidance in the event of inappropriate waste
management and take administrative action against
dishonest business operators.
Illegal waste disposal not only imparts significant
damage on the environment but also creates a great
financial burden on municipalities bearing the costof recovery operations and decreases residents
trust in waste management.

Biohazard mark (Infectious)

To prevent this, the city of Kawasaki cooperates
with the Kawasaki City Council for the Prevention of
Illegal Waste Dumping and other entities toimplement daily patrols for sites where wastes arebeing illegally disposed, and has taken special
measures such as installing cameras at sites where
massive amounts of waste have been illegally
disposed.
Asbestos mark(Construction materials containing asbestos)

Although not required to do so by law, Kawasaki
established an Industrial Waste Management
Guidance Plan in 1991. This plan includes basic
policies for municipal guidance in industrial waste
management in accordance with environmentrelated administrative plans, laws and regulations
stipulated by national and local governments.
This plan takes as its basic principle the realizationof a sound material-cycle society that ensuresenvironmental protection along with safety and15

16

References
� Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ). (2013). The Third Fundamental Plan for Establishing aSound Material- Cycle Society 2013. http://www.env.go.jp/en/recycle/smcs/3rd-f_plan.pdf
� MOEJ. Grants/subsidies for promoting a Sound Material-Cycle Society.
http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/waste/3r_network/index.html (available in Japanese)� MOEJ. (2013). Guidelines for Developing the Master Plan for Municipal Waste Disposal.
http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/waste/gl_dwdbp/ (available in Japanese)� Aoki-Suzuki, Chika and Hotta, Yasuhiko. (2011). Case Study of Japan: Policy Instruments for
Improved Collaboration Between the National and Local Governments in Japan (in Japanese). In
Annex to Chapter 3-1, Asia Resource Circulation Policy Research Project, Regional Policy Studies
Report 2010: Improving Governance for 3R Policy Implementation. Research Project Commissioned
by Ministry of the Environment, Japan, in Fiscal 2010.

17

3.2 Holistic waste management approach for solid
waste, liquid waste and gaseous emissions
1) Progress in waste disposal
management in Japan

In 2000, Japan established the Basic Act on
Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society.
Through this act the Japanese government aims tofoster a material-cycle society, in which natural
resources are conserved and the environmentalload is reduced to the greatest extent possible
through the reduction of waste and utilization ofrecycled resources.

The foundation of Japanese laws and regulations
for waste management was the Clean Feculence
Act, established for the hygienic handing of waste in1900. This law was revised and became the Public
Cleansing Act in 1954 for the purpose of improving
public sanitation through the maintenance of clean
living environments.
During the period of high economic growth from the
1950s to the 1970s, the national government took
on the growing problem of environmental pollution
caused by soot and smoke and drainage fromindustrial plants as well as the increasing amounts
of, and changes in the quality of, waste being
generated in urban areas. One result of thegovernment’s efforts was the Waste Management
and Public Cleansing Law, one of the 14
antipollution laws passed in 1970, which replaced
the existing Public Cleansing Act. This new law
included the concept of protecting the living
environment, a concept commonly found in
antipollution laws, as well as improving publicsanitation from the standpoint of appropriate waste
management.

History of laws and regulations concerning
waste management in Japan

Air and water pollution were gradually reduced withthe establishment of laws and regulations. The
Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law, on
the other hand, was not effective in addressing theissue of waste. As Japanese economic growthcontinued, society grew accustomed to a lifestyle
based on mass production, consumption anddisposal.

2) Overall waste management methods
The Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law
defines waste as solid or liquid matter.
While the Waste Management and Public Cleansing
Law stipulates the general legal system for thehandling of waste, specific measures also exist. If
waste in a category stipulated by the Waste
Management and Public Cleansing Law is also
subject to regulatory measures under other systems
due to other laws, the specific measures takeprecedence if the standards applied therein are
equal or higher than those prescribed by the Waste
Management and Public Cleansing Law. For
example, the Water Pollution Control Law takes
precedence when applied to industrial wastewater
discharged to public water areas, while theSewerage Law takes precedence when applied to
sewage discharged to final sewage treatment
facilities. The water discharged must be incompliance with the standards set forth in therelevant law.
According to this concept, waste is governed under
the laws described below based on thecharacteristics of the waste.
⃝ Solid waste: Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law⃝ Liquid waste: Water Pollution Control Law or
Sewerage Law⃝ Gaseous emissions: Air Pollution Control Law

An economy based on mass production andconsumption created a society that generated atremendous amount of waste, which in turninterfered with protection of the environment and thesound circulation of materials. Furthermore, mass
production and consumption are closely associatedwith a wide range of environmental problems suchas global warming due to greenhouse gas
emissions, the depletion of natural resources andthe destruction of nature through the large-scale
extraction of resources.
In 1992, the United Nations Conference on
Environment
andDevelopment(UNCED),
commonly known as the Rio Summit, was held in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Discussion among
participating countries on the importance ofaddressing environmental issues at a global scale
led to the establishment of rules for the protection of
the global environment and the promotion ofsustainable development.

18

Pollution Control Law: 28 hazardous substancesand 15 other substances; Sewerage Law: 27
hazardous substances and 13 other substances).
Furthermore, the Water Pollution Control Law
stipulates chemical oxygen demand (COD) for
plants of a certain size or greater located in closed
water areas and controls the discharge frombusinesses of wastewater containing hazardous
substances into the ground. Liquid waste notsubject to these laws falls under the Waste
Management and Public Cleansing Law. The
content of the regulation is the same as that for solid
waste.
Overall laws and regulations concerning waste
management in Japan

5) Methods for managing waste
according to its characteristics(gaseous emissions arising throughthe incineration of waste)3) Methods for managing waste
according to its characteristics(solid waste)

The Air Pollution Control Act applies to gaseousemissions. The gaseous emissions regulated bythis law are soot and smoke, which means sulphuroxides (SOx), soot and dust and hazardous
substances (such as chlorine, hydrogen chloride
and nitrogen oxide [NOx]) generated during
combustion. The facilities regulated by this law areclassified into 33 categories, and facilities equippedwith burners whose combustion capability reaches
a certain level are designated as facilities thatgenerate soot and smoke. The law stipulates
procedures for advance notification required to
install target facilities, standards for controlling thetotal emissions of soot and smoke from facilities andstandards for controlling the total emissions of SOx
and NOx that apply to large-scale plants.

The Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law
applies to solid waste. Solid waste is classified into
municipal solid waste and industrial waste.
Municipal solid waste means waste from people’s
daily lives, human excrement, and waste frombusinesses that can be processed by municipal
waste disposal facilities. Municipalities bear
responsibility for the management of such waste.
Industrial waste is waste generated throughbusiness activities falling into one of twenty
categories stipulated under the Waste Management
and Public Cleansing Law, for which business
operators bear responsibility for managing.
The major content of the regulation serves toprohibit the illegal disposal of waste and illegal open
burning and stipulates standards for the processingof both municipal solid waste and industrial waste,
approval of waste disposal operators, approval of
installation of waste disposal facilities andequipment and so on.

In addition, the Air Pollution Control Act regulates
the emission of volatile organic compounds andparticulates and promotes measures against
hazardous air pollutants and so on.

6) Relationship between the Waste
Management and Public Cleansing
Law and other recycling laws

4) Methods for managing waste
according to its characteristics(liquid waste)

To create a legal infrastructure for the establishmentof a sound material-cycle society, the Japanese
government established or revised six recycling
laws, including the Basic Act on Establishing aSound Material-Cycle Society (2000), the Waste
Management and Public Cleansing Law, theContainers and Packaging Recycling Law (1995),
and the Small Home Appliance Recycling Law(2012).

As special laws addressing waste, the Water
Pollution Control Law and Sewerage Law, which
apply to liquid waste, take precedence over the
Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law,
which is a general law.
The Water Pollution Control Law stipulates certain
categories of facilities subject to regulation, and theSewerage Law targets the facilities designatedunder the Water Pollution Control Law.

These individual recycling laws set the conditions
for the collection and transportation of waste
stipulated by the Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law and promote the recycling of waste.

Both laws stipulate procedures for advance
notification required to install target facilities andstandard concentrations (acceptable limits) ofregulated substances in wastewater (Water
197) Waste management methods(measures) adopted by waste disposal
facilities

9) Examples of waste disposal facilities
associated with the Waste Management
and Public Cleansing Law and withspecific recycling laws

Municipal Waste Disposal Standards regulate
waste management according to the type of waste
and the processing undertaken (collection, transport,
storage and disposal). In addition, a qualification
system has been adopted to approve theconstruction or renovation of waste disposal
facilities.

Specific laws are in place to promote the recyclingof used products, and there are certain certification
criteria in which disposal operations are exempt
from approval stipulated by the Waste Management
and Public Cleansing Law. However, there are no
exemptions to the qualification standards for the
installation of waste disposal facilities.

The approval process takes into consideration thetype of waste to be handled, processing methods
and the ability for the waste to be properly handledfrom the viewpoint of protecting the living
environment. Qualification standards for waste
disposal facilities cover structures, management,
protection of the living environment of surrounding
areas and appropriate consideration for otherfacilities in the area.
Waste disposal facilities must meet these standards
to be approved.

Kawasaki is home to waste disposal facilities
subject to the Home Appliance Recycling Law and
the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law.

10) Use of environmental impact
assessments in accordance withmunicipal ordinances

8) Mini-assessment for waste disposal
facilities

An environmental impact assessment requires
business operators and land developers to projectand evaluate the likely impact of a proposed
undertaking or development involving changes inland configuration, etc. by taking into account thenatural environment, regional living environmentand socio-cultural environment prior to decisionmaking. The process also includes disclosing theresults, exchanging views with residents in the areaand shaping projects to suit the local environment.
This system is effective in preventing environmental
pollution and ensuring a favourable environment.

Approval requires municipal assessment of a waste
disposal facility’s impact on the living environment
in the surrounding area. This is referred to as a miniassessment, which covers air, noise, vibration,
odour, water quality, and underground water,
aspects of the environment that may be influenced
by the operation of the facility and the transport andstorage of waste handled thereby.
The assessment allows municipalities to confirm
that the waste facility structure and management
are designed to ensure the protection of the living
environment in the surrounding area.

The city of Kawasaki established environmental
impact assessment ordinances in October 1976,
ahead of other cities in Japan. In addition, it set fortha Regional Environment Management Plan topromote environmental protection and stipulates theitems to be considered in environmental impact
assessments (see the table below). The cityrequires business operators to carry out
investigations, forecasts and evaluations regardingthese items and conserve the environment whilereflecting the opinions of local residents.

In addition, waste disposal facilities are required to
employ qualified specialists to ensure appropriate
management. For the control of pollution such as
gas emissions and discharge water from facilities,
the Air Pollution Control Act and Water Pollution
Control Law regulate the waste disposal procedures.

20

Large Category

Water

Middle Category
Air quality
Odors
Other
Water quality

Small Category
Air quality
Odors
Air environment elements other than those mentioned above
Public water area / underground water

Soil

Soil contamination

Soil contamination

Noise / vibration /low-frequency
sounds

Noise / vibration /low-frequency
soundsWastesWastesNoise
Vibration
Low-frequency sounds
Municipal solid waste
Industrial waste
Soil generated during construction

SafetySafetyAir

Fires / explosions / leakage of chemical substances, etc.

Major environmental impact assessment categories and items

References� Japan Environmental Sanitation Center. (2012). Manual for the Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Law, FY2012 Edition.
� United Nations Environment Programme. (2013). The Japanese Industrial Waste Experience: Lessons
for rapidly industrializing countries.

21

3.3 Packaging wastethemselves or consign the recycling processing to
the Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling
Association, designated as a producer responsibility
organization. The Japan Containers and Packaging
Recycling Association does not own recycling
processing facilities. It selects by public tenderbusiness operators that meet certain conditions andentrusts recycling processing operations to them.

[1] National policy
1) Background and objective
An immense amount of waste resulted from mass
production and mass consumption, making thecapacity limitations of final disposal sites a serious
issue, while the siting of incineration facilities
became increasingly difficult. Against this backdrop,
it became necessary to promote the sorted
collection and recycling of containers andpackaging waste, which accounted for a large
portion of municipal solid waste (approximately 60%
by volume). In response to this situation, theContainers and Packaging Recycling Law wasenacted and promulgated in June 1995 (with aportion entering into force in December 1995). The
2006 revision of the law added items whose
disposal as waste should be minimized, resulting inefforts to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags
and other items.

The selection of business operators, setting of rates,
and material flow are open to the public in order toensure the transparency of the system.

2) Roles of the parties concerned
The roles of the parties concerned are as follows:
Develop a planfor sorted collection
Municipalities
Carry out sorted collection
Conduct awareness campaigns
Minimize
container
andpackaging waste
Consumers
Carry out sorted disposal inaccordance with the sorted
collection plan
Minimize waste from containers
Specified businessand packaging being used,
operators, including manufactured or imported
importers
Conduct recycling (obligatory)
National
government4) Performance of the system

Conduct educational campaigns
and PR activities targeting thegeneral public

3) Characteristics of the recycling system
The Containers and Packaging Recycling Law isintended to cover the containers and packaging
wastes in the following table.
Among these types of waste, containers andpackaging that can be transferred through sorted
collection for remuneration or without charge, suchas steel cans and cardboard, are excluded from thescope of recycling under the law.

The enforcement of the Containers and Packaging
Recycling Law has facilitated the sorted collection
and recycling of the four items required to berecycled; consequently, the amount being landfilled
is successfully being reduced. Since the revision of
the law in 2006, not only has the amount of waste
generated been reduced, but also efforts todecrease packaging have been underway by largescale users. In particular, there has been a drop in
the amount of plastic shopping bags consumed
domestically. The revised law also led totechnological achievements, including reductions inthe size and weight of containers and packaging
such as PET bottles.
In this way, the Containers and Packaging
Recycling Law has greatly contributed to prolonging
the use of final disposal sites in line with its original
goal, while also advancing the technologies ofrecycling containers and packaging.

Therefore, what is subject to recycling is the four
items indicated in the table above (glass bottles,
other paper containers and packaging, PET plastic
bottles, and non-PET plastic containers). Specified
business operators ― users, manufacturers andimporters – are required to recycle containers andpackaging waste that meet certain conditions.
Specified business operators may recycle them by22

x 1,000 tonnes/year

Mechanism of packaging waste recycling based on the Containers and Packaging Recycling
L

Amount of plastics bags used

Amount of waste23[2] Example of local implementation:
Kawasaki
1) Waste sorting in Kawasaki

Group resource collection
The communities that form neighbourhood
associations, residents’ associations, PTA groups
etc., collect recyclable waste such as newspapers,
magazines, and corrugated cardboard incooperation with households and deliver it towaste collectors.

The city of Kawasaki revised its waste disposal
policy from appropriate treatment to resource
circulation in response to a rise in public andindustry awareness about recycling after Kawasaki
declared “a state of emergency in waste
management” in 1990. The city has increased thenumber of items to be sorted for collection andpromoted the reduction and recycling of wastes.

Kawasaki City pays 3 yen per 1kg of collected
waste to registered organizations engaged ingroup resource collection, and 1 yen per 1kg ofcollected waste to collectors.

With containers and packaging from households
accounting for approximately 20 to 30% of the total
weight of waste and approximately 60% of thevolume, the city began sorting and collecting steel
and aluminium cans and glass bottles, later
expanding to PET bottles (excluding bottle caps andlabels), which are now indispensable in people’s
daily lives. They were easy to sort and allowed thecity to build a framework for recycling items that had
until then been discarded as waste. In Japan there
is a saying that “mixed items are waste; sorted items
are resources.” Kawasaki has promoted recycling
through sorted waste collection with easy-tounderstand catchphrases such as this.
Recently, in response to the enforcement of theContainers and Packaging Recycling Law, the city
expanded the range of recycling to paper and plastic
material found in society in a wide range of forms.
Kawasaki is one of the few municipalities thatcollects and recycles the majority of its paper- based
waste as mixed paper, including paper containers
and packaging and material normally prohibited2, inparallel with private service systems for thecollection and recycling of used paper (newspapers,
magazines, corrugated cardboard and milk cartons).
This was made possible through paper recycling
technology provided by companies located in
Kawasaki Eco-Town3.
Kawasaki also took advantage of the concentrationof companies with recycling technology for
packaging and plastic bottles at its Kawasaki EcoTown to establish a desirable waste disposal
system that allows almost all recycled waste to beprocessed within the city.

2 Examples of material that is normally prohibited: Vinylcoated paper, waterproof paper, envelopes withtransparent windows, papers with clips attached, etc

3 Eco Town: Companies located in the Kawasaki
Coastal Area have taken the initiative in reducing theenvironmental load in the region with the aim of creatinga sustainable society in which industrial activities are inharmony with the environment.
24

Flow of treatment for waste and recyclables in Kawasaki

The year 2013 marked a major transition for waste
disposal administration in Kawasaki. The citychanged the frequency at which it collects municipal
solid waste (burnable) from three times per week totwice along with the expansion of plastic containerand packaging collection citywide.

2) Reducing waste through expanding
sorted collections
Kawasaki has expanded its sorted waste collection
through public relations activities and informational
meetings designed to increase understanding andawareness so that each household understands thesorted collection system. It has also run trial
programmes in model areas to collect data andreview methods for expanding those efforts to theentire city.

This change was made with the aim of improving
sorted discharge at the household level as well as
reducing the generation and discharge of waste ingeneral. Some residents wanted municipal solid
waste collection to return to six days a week, as it
had been in the past, because of the convenience
which made people say Kawasaki was a convenient
place to live. However, because of rising awarenessabout reducing and recycling waste, the city
achieved an approximately 5.6% reduction inmunicipal solid waste, which exceeds the amount ofsorted recyclable waste.

� History of collection and treatment of
packaging waste in Kawasaki
� Started empty can collection (1977;
expanded city-wide in 1998)
� Started used dry cell collection (1984)
� Started empty bottle collection (1991;
expanded city-wide in 1999)
� Started collection of small metal articles(1997)
� Started PET bottle collection (1999;
expanded city-wide in 2003)
� Started mixed paper collection (2006;
expanded city-wide in 2011)
� Started plastic container collection (2011;
expanded city-wide in 2013)

As a result, in spite of its increasing population,
Kawasaki has reduced the amount of incinerated
waste by approximately 130,000 tons over the past
decade while maintaining the number of remaining
years of use of its final disposal sites at 40. The cityalso forecasts it will achieve its goal of reducing theamount of incineration per year to 370,000 tons, as
laid out in the “Waste Management Basic Plan (The
Kawasaki Challenge for 3Rs).”

25

������ �������

������ ����Changes in population and amount of
incinerated and recycled waste in Kawasaki
References� Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association. (2013). Fiscal 2012 Annual Report.
http://www.jcpra.or.jp/association/financial/pdf/24/01.pdf (available in Japanese)� Yamakawa, Hajime. (2014). “Containers and Packaging Recycling Act: Adoption of EPR to Containers
and Packaging in Japan.” In Support, Survey and Analysis Operation for Multinational Cooperation in
the Field of Waste Disposal and 3R Promotion Report in Fiscal 2013 of the Institute for Global
Environmental Strategies (contract project of the Ministry of the Environment).
� Mitsubishi Research Institute. (2013). Intelligence Investigation and Analysis Operation Report on
Containers and Packaging Recycling System: Containers and Packaging Recycling Promotion
Survey―Commission for Survey on Response to Environmental Issues in Fiscal 2012.
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/main/data/research/h24fy/h2503-yourimri.html (available inJapanese)263.4 Food waste
A new basic policy for the Food Recycling Law,based on that report, was promulgated on July 31,
2015.

[1] National policy
1) Background
In Japan, most food waste in the production anddistribution stages and food waste arising fromleftover food during the consumption stage (foodresidue) used to be disposed of in large quantities
without being reused as fertilizer or animal feed. At
the same time, pressure regarding the remaining
capacity at final disposal sites and other issues
surrounding waste disposal were becoming
increasing severe.

3) Food reuse targets for food-related
business operators
The Food Recycling Law brings together“controlling the amount of food waste and reducing
the amount” and “the reuse and thermal recovery offood cyclical resources” to promote measurescomprehensively under a definition of “the reuse offood cyclical resources.”

It was in this context that the Food Recycling Law
was enacted, with the aims of ensuring the effective
use of food-related resources and of reducing thegeneration of food-related wastes. The Food
Recycling Law was promulgated in June 2000 andentered into force in May 2001.

Targets for the rate of implementing food reuse by
food-related business operators have been set at
95% among food manufacturers overall, 70% forfood wholesalers overall, 55% for food retailers
overall, and 50% for food service providers overall
for fiscal 2019, with each target representing an
improvement over the current level.

Under the Food Recycling Law, reporting of thevolume of food waste, the amount of food reused,
and other matters because obligatory for business
operators generating large amounts of food waste
and the like. It also established a registration system
for food recycling business operators and created asystem for authorizing reuse business plans (calleda “food recycling loop” authorization system) carriedout by food waste-generating business operators,
food recycling business operators and farmers
acting in cooperation.

In addition, it calls on individual business operators
to exceed the implementation rate target (the rate of
implementing the standard) for the current fiscal
year established for their own business grouping, inorder to attain the target for each business grouping
as a whole.
As for reducing food loss in particular, it calls forvarious related parties including the national
government, local governments, food-related
business operators, and consumers to cooperate todevelop a national movement to reduce food loss
throughout the food chain as a whole, from food
manufacturing to consumption, and work to reducefood loss.

While the rate of implementation for reuse of foodcyclical resources throughout Japan’s food industry
as a whole steadily improved to 85% in fiscal 2013,
the reuse implementation rate declines as one goes
further downstream in the food distribution system.
In addition, Japan has a high rate of dependency on
imports for foodstuffs and production ingredients,
and in fiscal 2012, approximately 28 million tons offood waste, including from households, wasgenerated, similarly to years past. Within this, foodthat was discarded despite still being fit to eat – also
known as “food loss” – was estimated at about 6.42
million tons, indicating a need to promote reductions
in food waste still further.

4) Performance of the system

2) Formulating a new basic policy for the
Food Recycling Law

The disposal amount of food waste and therecycling implementation rate in recent years areshown in the following chart:

The Ministers of the Environment and of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries consulted respectively with
the Central Environment Council and the Council for
Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas Policies, asking
for the Councils to hold joint deliberations in
September 2014 on drafting a basic policy
regarding the promotion of the reuse of food cyclicalresources. The Councils’ report was released in
April 2015.

The disposal amount of food waste has been on a
downward trend every year; the recycling
implementation rate has also improved. However,since the target level has not been achieved in the27

from its elementary school lunch programme for use
as animal feed, fertilizer and compost.

fields of food wholesale and food service providers,further efforts need to be made.

Informational meeting

3) Food Waste Recycling Plan
Kawasaki held discussions from November 2005 tocreate a recycling plan. The discussions included
citizens, individuals involved in agriculture as wellas those with relevant knowledge and experience,business operators and city officials. In February
2007, the city established its Food Waste Recycling
Plan based on the reports from the discussions,covering until fiscal 2015. This plan encourages
individual households and residents’ organizations
to engage in small-scale cyclical use of food waste.

Food waste disposal amounts and recycling
implementation rates by business type, FY20082014[2] Example of local implementation:
Kawasaki
1) Guidance to business operators
discharging large quantities ofbusiness-related general waste

4) Food waste reduction by the city
government and residents

Kawasakidesignatesbusiness
operators
discharging an average of 100 kg or more ofbusiness-related general waste per day, or an
average of 3 or more tons of business-related waste
per month, as “primary business operators.”
Business operators discharging an average of 30 kg
or more and less than 100 kg of business-related
general waste per day, or an average of 900 kg or
more and less than 3 tons of business-related waste
per month, are designated as “secondary business
operators.” Both designations of operators are
required to create and submit plans for waste
reduction.

The Food Waste Recycling Plan includes grants toresidents for the purchase of food waste disposal
appliances as well as to organizations involved infood waste recycling activities utilizing farmland andpublic gardens in order to encourage individual
households and regions to reduce and recycle foodwaste, which accounted for approximately 30% ofhousehold waste when the plan was adopted.
In addition to these grants, the city recognizes
residents having knowledge and experience in foodwaste recycling as “Kawasaki Food Waste
Recycling Leaders” to provide lectures at meetingsorganized by ward offices or individuals and variousorganizations.

2) Providing information on the Food
Recycling Law and implementing
model projects

Kawasaki organizes networking events amongresident groups working on these activities todeepen their relationships and expand theiractivities. It also works in cooperation with
universities in the city and local residents to seek
new approaches to producing food waste-derived
fertilizer.

Kawasaki conducts hearings and on-site
inspections of both primary and secondary business
operators based on their plans for waste reduction
and provides information on the Food Recycling Act
and other matters. The city also introduces
outstanding approaches by business operators on
its website and holds informational meetings. As apart of its activities, the city also works incooperation with food waste disposers andprivately-operated plants to recycle food residue

28

Giving advice to residents at a ward

Giving advice to residents at a ward
officeImage of Kawasakis Food Waste
Recycling

References
� Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. Materials related to the Food Waste Recycling
Law. http://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/recycle/syokuhin/index.html (available in Japanese)� Japan Food Industry Association. http://www.shokusan.or.jp/kankyo/shoku/

29

3.5 E-waste[1] National policy
1) BackgroundEnd-of-life home appliances discarded as waste by
general households used to be crushed, after which
a portion of the metals contained were recovered.
Roughly one-half of the original volume wasultimately landfilled. The Law for Recycling
Designated Home Appliances (hereinafter, theHome Appliance Recycling Law) entered into force
in April 2001 in response to the situation that endof-life home appliances contain a large amount ofsteel, glass, and other useful resources, and thecapacity of final disposal sites had been becominga pressing situation; moreover, it would help bringabout a society with sound material cycles byreducing the amount of waste while making
adequate use of recyclable resources. In addition,
the Law on the Promotion of Recycling of Small
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment(hereinafter the Small Electrical and Electronic
Equipment Recycling Law) entered into force inApril 2013, advancing the creation of a system forrecovering cell phones, digital cameras, and othersmall electrical and electronic equipment outside
the scope of the Home Appliance Recycling Law.

Consumers

Localgovernments

Retailers

Manufacturers
National
government

Home
Appliance
Recycling Law
Properly
deliver items
Cover costs
related tocollection andrecycling
Implement
necessarymeasures topromotecollection,transport, andrecycling
Collect items
from users
Transfer items
tomanufacturers
Receive items
from retailers
Recycle items
Research,
education,
publicity, etc.

Small Electrical andElectronic Equipment
Recycling Law

Participate in sorted
collection

Collect items
Transfer items toauthorized business
operators

Cooperate in proper
disposalCooperate inrecycling
Research, education,
publicity, etc.

2) Objective4) Characteristics of the recycling system

The Home Appliance Recycling Law places anobligation on manufacturers to recycle the four
specified home appliances into products or raw
materials.
This
requirement
encourages
manufacturers to design products that are easy torecycle.

The following overviews the Home Appliance
Recycling Law and the Small Electrical andElectronic Equipment Recycling Law.
Home Appliance
Recycling Act

In addition, the Small Electrical and Electronic
Equipment Recycling Law aims at the effective useof resources by having small waste electrical andelectronic equipment, which contains significant
amounts of steel, copper, gold, silver and otheruseful metals, recovered and recycled efficiently
and in a broad-based manner.

DisposalcoverageHouseholds andcompanies

Covered items

TV sets; washingmachines andclothes dryers; airconditioners;
refrigerators andfreezers3) Roles of the parties concerned
The roles of the parties concerned in the Home
Appliance Recycling Law and the Small Electricaland Electronic Equipment Recycling Law are as
follows.

Responsibility
for recovery
Method forcollection
Responsibility
for recycling

Electronics retailstoresCost burden

Consumers

30

Small Electricaland Electronic
Equipment
Recycling Act
Households andcompanies
Most electronic
items such as
cellphones, digital
cameras andgame machines,
other than thefour items
specified at left

Manufacturers
Collection boxes,
etc.

Manufacturers
Varies according
to collection
method5) Performance of the system[2] Example of local implementation:
Kawasaki
1) Unique collection system through theHome Appliance Recycling Council

Under the Home Appliance Recycling Law, 10.86
million home electric appliances were collected and11.48 million recycled in FY2014. The chart below
shows the recycling rate by item for the four types
of home electric appliances has already reached therequired legal standard. In terms of the Small
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling Law,
about 50,000 tons of small electrical and electronicequipment were collected in FY2014. Further
activities have been implemented toward achieving
the annual collection target of 140,000 tons in
FY2015.

The Home Appliance Recycling Law requires home
appliance retailers to collect four kinds of usedhome appliances (air conditioners, refrigerators andfreezers, TVs, and washers and dryers) which theysold, or which have been used by purchasers whoare buying new ones from them, and home
appliance manufacturers are required to recycle theappliances accepted by retailers. Home applianceretailers in Kawasaki established the Kawasaki City
Home Appliance Recycling Council to promote thecollection and recycling of home appliances incooperation with the city through the “Kawasaki
Recycling System.”

The remaining sustainable years of final disposalsites for municipal waste in Japan are increasing
yearly, and the Home Appliance Recycling Law has
played a significant role in reducing final disposal
volume.

Although not required to do so by law, under the
Kawasaki Recycling System, retailers who areCouncil members accept these four kinds ofappliances from residents regardless of where they
were originally purchased, and Kawasaki provides
temporary storage for the collected home
appliances. The home appliances collected bycooperating retailers are stored at a temporarystorage facility, and agencies entrusted by theCouncil transport them to sites designated by eachmanufacturer for recycling.

Recycling products
FY
Air conditioners
CRT TV sets
Flat panel TV sets
Refrigerators
Washing machines-2008
60%55%50%50%-

200970%55%50%60%65%-

Allowing residents to take their home appliancesfrom the four categories stipulated by law toneighbourhood home appliance retailers not only
encourages consumers to recycle, but it gives
appliance retailers the opportunity to attract newcustomers and costs Kawasaki less money than it
would to recycle the home appliances at municipal
facilities. Increasing the number of Council
members is also expected to help in preventing
illegal disposal. Kawasaki utilizes the market
mechanism in this framework to promote home
appliance recycling.

201580%55%74%70%82%-2) New approaches to recycling small
electrical and electronic equipment
The Small Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Recycling Law aims to encourage the efficientcollection of items for recycling while also obliging
all relevant parties to assume some responsibilities.
The targets are varied and the methods of collection
are diverse. The law gives each municipality the
freedom to decide how they will implement thesystem to collect and recycle the items.
Kawasaki worked to gather information on efficient
recycling systems from the time the national
government was discussing the potential law. Oncethe law was passed in April 2013, the city moved
forward with early implementation of a system thatwould reduce the burden on residents and prevent

Remaining capacity of landfill sites and its
trend
31

confusion about the changes in the collection
system.

4) Collection through events
The city sets up collection boxes at public events anddistributes leaflets to encourage the recycling of small
electrical and electronic equipment among residents.

In addition, through the verification project
implemented by the Ministry of the Environment topromote small electrical and electronic equipment
recycling by municipalities, Kawasaki was able toutilize national funding for the initial investment tobegin collection at base collection points and eventsfrom October 2014.

3) Box collection
The city has installed collection boxes for small
electrical and electronic equipment at public
facilities to promote collection directly fromresidents at these base collection points.
Target articles are those specified under
government guidelines (articles to be recycledconsidering their value as resources and ease of
sorting), such as mobile phones and digital cameras,
which are less than 30 cm at their longest andtherefore easily inserted into collection boxes,
whose deposit slots measure 30 cm by 15 cm.

Collection at events

Punching a hole in a mobile phone
At the events, the city also punches holes in collectedmobile phones to show residents that it protects
personal information when handling collected devices.

5) Pick-up collection

Collection box for small home
appliances

Through the collection of small metal articles andoversized waste, Kawasaki has already promoted
the recycling of metal resources such as steel,aluminium and copper, resources contained inmany kinds of small electrical and electronicequipment. In order to promote the efficientutilization of more resources such as precious andrare metals, the city has considered pick-up
collection to sort such resources through theexisting recycling system.

Examples of articles

Pick-up collection does not require changes in theexisting waste discharge method for residents, andtherefore does not impose new burdens on the
public. Moreover, the sorting conducted during andafter transport to waste collection facilities has notchanged significantly from the existing method. As
a result, the city is now engaged in pick-up collection
without any increases in workload or costs.

32

Pick-up collection
References
Association for Electric Home Appliances. (2014 July). Annual report on electric home appliance recycling for
fiscal year 2013. http://www.aeha.or.jp/recycling_report/pdf/kadennenji25.pdf (available in Japanese)� Hotta, Yasuhiko. (2014). EPR-based Electronic Home Appliance Recycling System under Home
Appliance Recycling Act of Japan, Global Forum on Environment: Promoting Sustainable Materials
Management through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), OECD.
� Hotta, Yasuhiko, Santo, Atsushi and Tasaki, Tomohiro. (2014). EPR-based Electronic Home
Appliance Recycling System under the Home Appliance Recycling Act of Japan. Case study prepared
for the OECD. www.oecd.org/env/waste/gfenv-extendedproducerresponsibility-june2014.htm
� Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI), Ministry of the Environment of Japan(MOEJ). (2013). Joint announcement #1: Basic policy regarding promoting the recycling of used small
electrical and electronic equipment. http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/recycling/raremetals/law/an_h2501.pdf (available in Japanese)� Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ). Measures addressing waste and recycling.
http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/recycling/index.html.
MOEJ. (2013). Results of the Survey on Municipal Waste Management Conducted in Fiscal 2012.
www.env.go.jp/press/press.php?serial=17559 (available in Japanese)� MOEJ. The Small Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling Law: A collection of explanatory
materials. http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/recycling/raremetals/consumer.html (available in Japanese)
http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/recycling/raremetals/attach/pub_pamph1303-1.pdf (available inJapanese)33

3.6 Construction and demolition waste[1] National policy
1) Background

Entity orderingtheconstruction

Construction waste generated by construction work
accounted for 20% of industrial waste and a large
percentage of the contents of final disposal sites as
well; the greatest part of illegally dumped waste wasalso construction waste. Moreover, with buildings
constructed in the high-economic growth period ofJapan needing to be renovated, further increases inconstruction waste were expected, and a prompt
response to all these issues was required. It was inthis context that the Law on Recycling ConstructionRelated Materials (the Construction Material
Recycling Law) was enacted and promulgated in
May 2000 and came into force in May 2002.

Construction
vendorLocal
governments

Submit notification
documents
Conduct separate demolition;
ensure recycling; provide
explanations/reports to entity
ordering the construction
Approval of schemes for thesorted dismantling of
construction materials related
to the notification documents;change orders; on-the-spot
inspections

4) Characteristics of the recycling system
2) Objective

Construction byproducts are divided into three
categories: waste that is not able to be recycled;
recycled resources to be used as raw materials; andmaterials with the potential to be used as raw
materials, which fall between waste and recycledresources (see the graphic below). Wrecking
companies are required to recycle concrete mass,asphalt-concrete mass and wood chips derived
from construction.

The Construction Material Recycling Law requires
separate demolition and recycling for certain
construction waste, establishes a registration
system for wrecking companies and aims topromote recycling and the utilization of recycledmaterials.

3) Roles of the parties concerned
The roles of the parties concerned in theConstruction Material Recycling Law are as follows:

Relationship among construction byproducts, recyclable resources and waste

Relationship among construction byproducts, recyclable resources and waste34������������������
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Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Source: Based on the 2014 Construction Recycling
Promotion Plan, MLIT
*1Ratio of the disposal volume of construction mixed waste to the disposal volume of total construction waste*2Ratio of the effective utilization in construction work through on-site utilization and utilization between construction
projects to the volume of earth and sand utilized*3Ratio of the effective utilization through on-site utilization and utilization between construction projects, includingreconstruction of quarry sites that are properly filled and acceptance of farmland to the disposal volume of construction

affixes in the lower right corner of the plate posted
at the site indicating the construction license or the
demolition operator registration.

5) Performance of the system
The promotion of recycling in construction
contributed to attaining a high recycling rate in 2012,as shown in the table above. Illegal dumping of
construction waste has also been largely reduced
compared to the situation prior to enforcement.

[2] Example of local implementation:
Kawasaki
1) Applications for permits under theConstruction Material Recycling Law
The Construction Material Recycling Law requires
permits for different types of construction work,
which can be categorized as building demolition,building construction or enlargement, anddemolition and construction of things other thanbuildings. The graph below shows changes in thenumber of permit applications submitted (including
notifications) in these categories.
Kawasaki has worked since 2004 to deter
construction work undertaken outside the permit
process. Once an application submitted by aconstruction contractor is accepted by the city, thecity issues a verification sticker, which the contractor

Number of permit applications submitted

35

Kawasaki increased the number of on-site
inspections in FY2010 and FY2011 in response toAugust 2010 newspaper reports which claimed
some recycled construction waste that included
asbestos was being used.

3) Recycling
Kawasaki created the Kawasaki City Recycling
Promotion Plan targeting the construction of public
works in the city in March 2004 and set target
recycling rates for specific construction waste to beachieved in FY2005 and FY2010 to promote
recycling in response to the full enforcement of theConstruction Material Recycling Law. These targets
were achieved on the whole.

Placement of the verification sticker

2) Inspections
Kawasaki conducts periodic on-site inspections topromote appropriate demolition work in accordancewith laws and regulations in cooperation withdepartments in charge of environmental measures
and waste management and national institutes incharge of measures to prevent the impairment ofhealth. The number of these inspections are shownin the graph below.

In March 2010, the city created its next Kawasaki
Construction Material Recycling Promotion Planand set target recycling rates for specificconstruction materials to be achieved in FY2012
and FY2015. As shown in the table below, the target
recycling rates have been achieved by and large for
Kawasakis public works projects.

Number of inspection in FY 2009-2015
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Recycling rate:
Asphalt concrete blocks, concrete blocks: (reuse volume + recycled volume) / emissions
Timber blocks: (reuse volume + recycled volume + amount of heat recovery) / emissions

36References

� Central Environmental Council of Japan, Construction Recycling Expert Committee, Waste andRecycling Task Force. Agenda and materials, 2007-2008.
http://www.env.go.jp/council/former2013/03haiki/yoshi03-17.html (available in Japanese)� Ministry of the Environment of Japan. (n.d.). The Construction Material Recycling Law.
http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/build/leaflet.pdf (available in Japanese)� Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan (MLIT). Recycling.
http://www.mlit.go.jp/sogoseisaku/recycle/index.html (available in Japanese)
� MLIT. Recycling: definition of construction by-products.
http://www.mlit.go.jp/sogoseisaku/region/recycle/fukusanbutsu/genjo/teigi.htm (available inJapanese)� MLIT. (2014). Construction Recycling Promotion Plan 2014.
http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001052952.pdf (available in Japanese)373.7 End-of-life vehicles[1] National policy
1) Background

serves as a means for responding to the risk ofbankruptcy by vehicle manufacturers.

Even before the law on end-of-life vehicles enteredinto force, within Japans recycling system forvehicles there already existed a disposal route thatmade use of the market for the recovery of usefulparts by dismantlers and the recycling of ferrous andnonferrous metals and other materials, madepossible through shredding and sorting operations
conducted by relevant operators.

The overall legal structure has been evaluated asfunctioning well on the whole, as goals foreliminating illegal dumping, reliably recycling
airbags, and reliably destroying fluorocarbons havebeen met.
The proper execution of this system has
dramatically eased the problematic limited
remaining capacity of final disposal sites attributable
to ASR, and this was one of the initial goals uponenactment of the law. It has also drastically reduced
the number of remaining vehicles, including thoseon remote or small islands. The situation on theseislands was a particularly significant issue at thetime the law was enacted. At the end of September
2004 just before this law entered into force, there
were just over 218,000 vehicles which had been
dumped illegally or stored improperly; by March
2015, this figure had dropped to a little over 7,200
vehicles.

In April 1995, it was made obligatory to dispose of
automobile shredder residue (the shredded remainsof a vehicle from which parts, materials and otherthings of value have already been recovered;hereinafter abbreviated as ASR) in leachatecontrolled landfills. Volatile fluctuations in the priceof scrap iron, together with the pressing nature of
final disposal sites limited remaining capacity andthe rapid surge in final disposal costs that resulted,
led to the market-based recycling system that wasin place until that time failing to function properly.
There was at the same time growing concern thatillegal dumping and inappropriate disposal would
increase.

Although the number of new cases of illegally
dumped and improperly stored vehicles has been
on a downward trend, a certain number of cases
continue to emerge, requiring ongoing measures
going forward.

In light of this situation, the Law for the Recycling ofEnd-of-Life Vehicles (hereinafter, the End-of-life
Vehicle Recycling Law) was enacted andpromulgated in July 2002, entering into force inJanuary 2005.

In addition, the End-of-life Vehicle Recycling Law
has made it easier to monitor the recycling of thethree designated items (fluorocarbons, airbags, and
ASR), and in fact recycling has been increasing
dramatically. A goal was set to have 95% of end-oflife vehicles overall undergo indirectly eithermaterial or thermal recycling, leveraging the goal ofrecycling 70% of ASR that has accompanied vehicle
manufacturers carrying out ASR recycling.

2) Policy objective and an evaluation of
the system after its entry into force
Under the new system based on the End-of-life
Vehicle Recycling Law, three items whose disposal
is particularly costly (fluorocarbons, airbags, andASR) are separated off from the existing disposalroute. Vehicle manufacturers accept these items
and recycle them after relevant business operators
conduct proper processing, with the user bearing
their recycling costs. The goal has been to create asituation in which used vehicles on the whole
undergo distribution as valuables and also to havethe market-based recycling system that was alreadyin place function well.

The recycling of end-of-life vehicles overall had
been at roughly 83% when the vehicle recycling
system was introduced but has now reached a levelof almost 100%. Moreover, with regard to the stateof recycling fee deposits and the state of recycling
end-of-life vehicles, it has become possible tomanage information on individual vehicles throughlinking in to motor vehicle inspection information,
resulting in high evaluations of Japans system evenin comparison to European systems.

As for how the charges are paid by the user, the end
user deposits the recycling fees in advance, at thetime a new vehicle is purchased. By having theowner cover these fees, this system reduces inadvance the risk of illegal dumping. In addition, therecycling fees that have been deposited areadministered and used collectively by a designateddeposit management entity until the vehicle reaches
the end of its life. The recycling fees deposited at
the time the vehicle was purchased areappropriated to its recycling costs. The system also

3) Performance of the system
The accompanying table shows the ASR recycling
rates that have been achieved. The rate forrecycling ASR has attained a level greatly
surpassing the 70% set as the standard for FY2015
and beyond. The percentage undergoing whole
recycling had been declining but has now
increased somewhat. The overall recycling rate has
been rising, reaching 97% in fiscal 2014.
38

Month/year
Number of vehicles

Before entry into
force
09/2004 03/2005
218,359 140,436

After entry into force
03/2008
22,28003/2009
14,98303/2010
11,46503/2011
9,635

03/2012
8,667

State of illegal dumping and inappropriate storage of vehicles

Collected weight of ASR (t) (a)Number of vehicles collected
Collected weight of ASR per
vehicle (kg/vehicle)
Weight received at recycling
facilities (t)Weight of residue discharged
from recycling facilities (t)Weight recycled (t) (c)ASR equivalent weight received
for authorized whole recycling*(t) (b)(Number of vehicles subjected towhole recycling)ASR equivalent weightreceived at authorized whole
recycling* facilities (t)Weight of residue discharged
from whole recycling facilities(t)
Weight recycled (t) (d)Weight of vehicles subjected towhole recycling (weight basis)(b/a+b)ASR recycling rate (averageamong all obligated parties) ((c +d)/(a + b))

FY 2005(Law enters
into force)
427,508(2,417,342)

FY 2011

FY 2012FY 2013

FY 2014498,124(2,689,445)

598,533(3,194,936)

590,624(3,174,446)

575,046(3,101,651)(176.9)(185.2)(187.3)(186.1)(185.4)

289,519493,393593,944587,388575,046

40,58830,05625,97817,574

16,908248,931463,337

567,966

569,814558,138

52,95525,86927,32930,40332,121(307,167)(139,254)(146,453)(163,452)(175,563)

49,12625,86927,32930,40332,121

928

261

321

323

441

48,19925,60827,00830,08031,680

11.0%

4.9%

4.4%

4.9%

5.3%

61.8%

93.3%

95.1%

96.6%

97.1%

Treatment status and recycling rate of shredder dust
*Of the recycling techniques that elaborately dismantle end-of-life vehicles and melt down the vehicle in its entirety as
steel materials and do not generate ASR, whole recycling is a technique that is recognized in article 31 of the End-of-life
Vehicle Recycling Law.

4) Registration and licensing of business
operators under the End-of-life Vehicle
Recycling Law

Number of registered operators
1: End-of-life vehicle collectors
35,814
2: Fluorocarbon recovery
11,455
Number of licenses
1: Dismantlers
4,928
2: Shredding and sorting
1,119(Pressing and shearing only)
1,003(as of the end of 2014)

Under the End-of-life Vehicle Recycling Law, local
public entities register business operators thatcollect
end-of-life
vehiclesandrecover
fluorocarbons. They also certify business operators
involved in the dismantling and shredding ofvehicles. Licenses are valid for five years.

394) Occurrences of, and responses to,reports of delays when reporting on
movement of end-of-life vehicles[2] Example of local implementation:
Kawasaki
1) Screening and standards forregistration and licensing

Telephone calls are made to business operators tourge them along in cases of delays.

Kawasaki has established requirements forregistration and licensing to ensure fair and efficientadministration. For the convenience of business
operators, the city also created guidelines for theapplication process and related business operations.

In cases of delays due to input errors and other suchcircumstances, a check of the situation is performedon site and efforts are made to ensure appropriate
reports on movement.

Because of the significant potential for impact on thesurrounding environment, dismantling, shredding
and crushing operators are required to submit
business plans for preliminary screening before
applying for registration and licensing.

1: Abandoned automobiles and response measures
� Although there has been some fluctuation in thenumber of abandoned automobiles, since the law
came into effect, there has been a gradualdecline.
� Automobiles abandoned on roads are removed
after police classification as discarded articles.
� For automobiles abandoned in places other thanroads, individual facility managers confirm
ownership and classify abandoned automobileson their premises as discarded articles.

2) On-site inspections and reporting� On-site inspections
Following registration or licensing, Kawasaki
conducts periodic on-site inspections to confirm
compliance with legal requirements (facility
standards, applicant capabilities, operations notprovided for in the application and environmental
protection-related measures).
� Collection of reports
Under the Automobile Recycling Law, the cityrequires operators to report inappropriate handlingor accidents.

2: Measures against illegal disposal� Setup of barricades� Reinforcement of patrols
3: Issues undermining measures against illegal
disposal� Due to a lack of temporary storage, it is difficult to
respond to petitions against time- consuming
waste removal (on roads).
� It is difficult to confirm ownership and classify
automobiles as waste (in places other than roads).
� Procedures for entrusting removal work, including
the selection of operators, are complicated.

3) Administrative disposition
Kawasaki has rescinded authorization for
operations that fail to meet requirements under theAutomobile Recycling Law. Instances include one
end-of-life vehicle collector, one fluorocarbon
recovery operator and two dismantlers.

Processes for registration and licensing based on the law on end-of-life vehicles

40

References� Automobile Recycling Working Group, Subcommittee on Waste and Recycling, Environment Task
Force of the Industrial Structure Council: 30th Joint Session of the Automobile Recycling Expert
Committee, Waste and Recycling Task Force of the Central Environmental Council (handouts). (2012,
August 10).
� http://www.meti.go.jp/committee/gizi_1/14.html (available in Japanese)
http://www.meti.go.jp/committee/summary/0004358/pdf/030_03_01.pdf (available in Japanese)� Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. The End-of-life Vehicle Recycling Law.
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/mono/automobile/automobile_recycle/index.html

41

Chapter 4 Lessons learned
This report highlights important lessons forcountries now on the path of economic growth.
Below are some essential lessons for developing
countries as they devise their own roadmaps forsustainable development based on the specificcircumstances they face within their respective
countries and cities.

residents themselves are responsible for the
air and water pollution that accompanied
economic activities. Preventing and reducing
waste therefore came to be an integral part ofthe mindset that helped Japan to incorporate
these concepts into its legal framework. The
targets and mission grounded in this fullyfledged waste management concept set thetone to improve the waste management
system.

Approach
1. Prevention is better than cure: Rapid
economic
growth,urbanizationandindustrialization in Japan during the 1950s to
1970s resulted in substantially greater
amounts of generated waste. Due toinappropriate waste management, not only
did waste dumps impart damage to humanhealth but also industrial waste heavily
contaminated natural resources such as on
Teshima Island, where industrial waste wasdumped. Developing countries can take away
the lesson that proactive measures are far
better than reactive measures in the context
of preventing irreversible impacts upon
human health and the environment.

4. Awareness-raising: The governments,
particularly local governments including the
Kawasaki city government, prioritizedawareness-raising for the community and forindustries regarding the health andenvironmental impacts of wastes (solid waste,liquid waste and gaseous emissions). This
led to voluntary actions by industries and thecommunity prior to policy making andenforcement.

Policies & their enforcement
5. Putting policies in place: The legislative
framework is important for an effective waste
management system and for policies. Undera law that serves as the main framework,
related laws should be improved or revised
according to the changing realities on the
ground, regarding the amounts of waste
generated and changes in the waste
composition, such as an increase in the
proportion of hazardous waste. Policies havebeen found to be more effective whenaccompanied by an incentive scheme. An
example of such an incentive is a subsidy
associated with specified or prioritized policy
areas.

2. Holistic approach: The silo approach oftreating solid waste with as many as 1,854
incineration facilities (in contrast to 54
facilities in Germany, the country with thesecond highest number after Japan) caused
multiple public health and environmental
problems, leading to a garbage war among
municipalities. To avoid such as situation, it isnecessary to take a holistic approach that
addresses waste in its various forms (as solid
waste, liquid waste, gaseous emissions andsoil contamination). This should beaccompanied by a fully-fledged concept
integrating all aspects of waste management(3Rs, waste to energy, application ofenvironmentally sound technologies, etc.).

6. Enforcement: Simply framing the policies is
not enough; it is also essential to put thepolicies to work under effective enforcement.
The close collaboration between Japansnational and local governments is critical. An
example in the case of Kawasaki is that thecity builds up cooperative relations with thenational government when implementing its
policies.

3. Setting the vision and mission: The
national government can effectively set a
vision. In Japan, once the vision of a Sound
Material-Cycle Society for social andeconomicreformwasestablished,legislation was adopted on various concepts,
including the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle)
and extended producer responsibility (EPR).
The mission was set by local governments,
such as the city of Kawasaki, to maintain ahealthy and comfortable living environment
for residents.

7. Securing budget allocations: Initial funding
from the national government to local
governments is a driver for proper,
sustainable waste management. In Japan,
the national government provided financial
support to build facilities (for instance,
subsidies for infrastructure and low interest
finance and special tax measures for

The vision was supported by a growing
awareness that industries as well as the42industrial waste management), along withtechnical guidance to operate and maintainthose facilities in the most cost effective
manner. Local governments became selfsufficient later, due to the growth of the local
economies and increases in tax revenue from
economic activities. Funding requirements
and priorities will vary from city to city, basedon local financial and technical capacity.

government and national government.
Source segregation is key, and this requires
effective education and awareness-raising.
Developing countries need to introduce longterm capacity building and awareness-raisingregarding waste reduction and recycling.

Partnerships
12. Working together - national and local
governments: The national government inJapan provides the legislative framework
along with active support to local
governments. This support is extensive,
ranging from annual surveys on waste andwaste management for identifying and filling
any gaps, the promotion of the 3Rs throughfinancial and technical support, financing andtax measures, and exchanges of views forcontinual
improvement.
The
local
governments work very closely withstakeholders
includingcommunities,
industries, and service providers to raiseawareness, strengthen their capacity andmonitor waste management. In developing
countries, cooperation between national andlocal governments is typically a major
challenge that needs to be overcome.

8. Licensing and monitoring: Japan places
the responsibility for disposing of industrial
waste on business operators. Illegal dumping
occurs because some business operators
consider disposal to be an overhead expensethat does not directly contribute to profits.
With the revision of previous laws, local
governments in Japan now implement an
industrial waste management licensing
system to monitor the management of waste
by businesses from generation to final
disposal. In addition, local governments arepromoting systems to cultivate theresponsibility and ability of business
operators through implementation of an
approval system for business start-ups,
installation of industrial waste processing
facilities by the waste management service
providers, penalties for non-compliance andso on. Regulations and restrictions
developed to monitor these activities have led
to measurable results.

13. Private sector participation: An effective
and efficient waste management system hascome about through active private sector
participation in Japan and its cities such as
Kawasaki. The private sector, including the
producers of various appliances andautomobiles, are responsible for collecting
back and recycling end-of-life appliances andvehicles under EPR. Private entities
producing industrial and other wastes are
responsible for managing their waste and thegovernment
providesanenabling
environment. Lastly, the private sector is
engaged in waste management services
including collection and transportation,
recycling, treatment and final disposal ofwaste. The private sector not only brings
investment but also improves management
efficiency. In developing countries, theprivate sector could be encouraged to be partof the waste management system. In cities orcountries where the private sector is not yet
well-structured, then a government- run
waste management system run under private
sector principles could be considered.

9. Financial and technical support: The
national
government
startedacomprehensive support system for local
governments to build and operate waste
treatment facilities. The local governments
through the support from the national
government established eco towns to provide
financial and technical support for recyclingand closing the loop, based on the 3R(reduce, reuse and recycle) approach.

Data & knowledge management
10. Envisioning the future: The changing
landscape of waste, such as the emergenceof e-waste, packaging waste, food waste,
construction waste and end- of-life vehicles,
was envisioned early on and proper policies
and infrastructure were developed to manage
these specific waste streams. This is an
important lesson for developing countries as
they develop waste data with projections into
the future, as such data must be taken into
account when developing an effective waste
management system.

These lessons above could be useful for developing
countries and their cities as they relate theseexperiences to their local situations and identify
important areas for knowledge transfer fromdeveloped countries and their cities such as Japanand Kawasaki. The knowledge transfer could be interms of policies, enforcement, techniques and

11. System for recycling: Japan and its cities
such as Kawasaki clearly demonstrate thatrecycling works well when there is full-fledged
support from the citizens, businesses, city43

technologies, education, national and local
government
cooperation,
privatesectorparticipation
andstakeholder
involvement.
Internationalorganizations
such
as
UN
Environment and institutions such as IGES canfacilitate knowledge transfer and help developing
countries to advance their national and city-level
waste management strategies to improve waste
management.

44